New York Official Attributes Low SARS Cases to Precaution, Goodluck

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, May 18, 2003

New York Official Attributes Low SARS Cases to Precaution, Goodluck

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Effective precautionary measures to prepare the public for possible outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), plus mere luck, have resulted in few SARS cases and zero mortality rate in New York City, a city healthofficial said on Saturday.

Speaking at a symposium on SARS sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences, Marcelle Layton, assistant commissioner of communicable disease program under the health department, said thecity's health authorities have spent much time drawing up contingency plans and taking specific steps to identify individualcases and trace their contact.

She noted that the health department sends out weekly health alerts and has conducted some targeted surveillance in health careproviders and members of the Asian communities, who may make more frequent trips to and from the SARS-affected regions.

The city's syndromic surveillance system, a real-time public health monitoring system, also plays a major role in alerting the health workers to any early signs of possible disease outbreaks inthe city.

The ability to mobilize and find out what is really happening and take immediate actions if necessary is essential, as the surveillance system could only tell health workers that something is wrong, she added.

It is important to enhance the individual hospital's preparedness in case of public health threat, and make sure that clinical staff are clear about when and how to report and deal with any emergency, she said.

The health department has followed the instruction of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for SARS diagnosis, isolation and quarantine and has taken early precautions to curb the possible spread of the disease, she said.

Another important factor is effective communication and good partnership with other sectors, she said. The health authorities have been successful in working together with other city agencies in dealing with the legal, security and logistical issues in the event of widespread isolation and quarantine measure.

Layton said the city has drawn something from the success story of Vietnam that had been able to basically stop the spread of SARScases by making rapid response and tracing the case contact.

She said New York City has been very lucky in that it does not have serious SARS cases and secondary spread of the cases so far. Latest statistics show the city has 18 suspected cases and three probable cases, none of them severe.

The health official, however, warned that the city could not afford to be complacent, citing some of the challenges the city would face, which include imposing isolation or quarantine on people from places no longer on the World Health Organization's travel warning list and screening possible SARS cases during flu peak seasons.

But Layton said that the city's health authorities will remain vigilant so long as the epidemic in Asia continues.

The one-day symposium drew medical experts from all over the country for exchange of views on recent development of the fight against SARS.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Chinese Crack Down on Public Spitting ( 2 Messages)

United States Afraid of its Own Shadow: Mahathir ( 8 Messages)

Int'l Community Aids China's SARS-control ( 6 Messages)

BBC Leader Criticizes US Coverage of War against Iraq ( 17 Messages)

US Interference in China's Internal Affairs Doomed to Failure: FM Spokeswoman ( 7 Messages)